Former Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron pleads guilty to tax evasion, benefits fraud charges

WILDWOOD, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — Former Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron has pleaded guilty to tax evasion and benefits fraud charges. New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin says Byron, 68, admitted to fraudulently participating in the state’s employee health benefit program and to a failure to report some of his income on state tax returns.

There were three charges in all: theft by unlawful taking, records tampering, and filing a fraudulent tax return. Platkin says the charges represent a nearly decade-long betrayal of the public’s trust.

Platkin says Byron’s illegal participation in the state workers health benefits program cost taxpayers more than $600,000 from 2011 to 2021. Platkin says “illegally obtaining benefits is not what holding public office should be about. Rather, it should be about honorably serving the people you represent.”

Byron was facing more than a decade in prison if convicted of all charges. Instead, he pleaded guilty, and prosecutors agreed to recommend three years at sentencing.

As part of the plea deal, Byron must also pay restitution and is banned from public office and government employment.

Current Mayor Ernest Troiano Jr. and City Commissioner Steve Mikulski were indicted along with Byron last July for allegedly taking taxpayer funded health benefits they weren’t entitled to. Their cases are still ongoing, and Platkin says they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.